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MOTOCROSS

2023

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Official MSA MX Nationals

Round 6 & 7 - Rover MX Track, Gqeberha

Rover MX double header was set to be the ultimate challenge of man and machine against the legendary sand. After weeks of preparation and with good rains a few days before, the track was a pleasurable dust free weekend of motocross racing at the infamous Rover Motorcycle Club in Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth). South Africa’s top riders started setting up early on Friday and walked the track inspecting the various technicalities which lay ahead. The sand of Rover is home to the sand dragon since 1950 shifting the dunes and the lines as race day progresses. Daylight had barely sneaked through for the early start of Round 6 and Round 7 of the Official Motorsport South Africa’s Motocross Nationals and the brisk air kept the mid-winter shivers alive at riders’ briefing. The weekend of a double header with double the action, double the entertainment and double the pressure with 100 points on the table per class for the weekend where champions could be decided. The 50cc class was dominated by the front runners Riley Geldenhuys #33, Mason Visser #420 and Parker Cik #333 with Eastern Cape’s homegrown Geldenhuys and Visser pulling two wins each out the bag and Cik exceptionally consistent with 4 2nd places. Aden Fisher #86 kept the pressure pot extremely tight mixing it up with Ben Jacobs #506 and Dorian Botes #84. Mason Barnes #193, Coby Kretzmann #15 and Joshua Naude #34 kept that mid-pack abuzz as the 50s battled it out. Jarret Botes #83 kept it tight with Rourke Walker #118 along with Wian Scheepers #263 and Cole Kruger #29. It was Cik who identified as the fastest rider on 2 wheels in the 50cc class, winning the FIM fastest 50cc lap time award of R500. Mason Visser chiselled his mark with the top step of the podium on Saturday followed by Riley Geldenhuys in 2nd and Cik took 3rd. Sunday told a slightly different story with Cik nudging ahead on the top step with Geldenhuys in 2nd and Visser in 3rd. The MX65cc class was probably the most daunting class of the day battling it out on Rovers’ sand with the small wheels on the soft sand making it even more challenging. Trenton Kretzmann #94 and home boy Aiden Retief #42 tied for 1st on Saturday but it was Retief’s better 2nd heat that bumped him up the ladder to 1st place with an amazing smooth ride. 2nd place was Kretzmann followed by Cassie van Zyl #234 on his Husqvarna. Evan Frost #1 in 4th and Kyle Brunette #305 in 5th and Ross Mackenzie #85 brought a good game and put up a challenging race. Sunday again told a very different story with Kretzmann taking both wins and Retief hot on his heels with 2nd place and van Zyl holding onto the last step of the podium. Frost was close behind in 4th and Brunette in 5th. Rayden Wools #345 in 6th, Ross Mackenzie #85 in 7th, Seth van der Walt #801 in 8th. The MX85cc pilots put up an incredible fight in the sand with outstanding riding from the Eastern Cape bullet Andrew Venter # 907 picking two wins, a second and a third on the weekend. Blade Tilley #125 also had some fun in the sand with a win, a second and two fourth places. Ashton Martin #7 did amazingly well to achieve a 2nd , and a 3rd podium spot. Jack Anderson #122 was not letting go and kept the hot wheels flying with a 2nd and two 3rd places. Aiden Henley clinched a spectacular win in the last heat showing the sand dragon how it’s done. MX High School was overloaded with heart? hot? racing action across all 4 heats. There was no sitting down for these riders as they took on a gruelling pace. Luke Grundy #1 took all four wins but not without a fight from Blake Young #44 and the young star Jordan van Wyk #747. Van Wyk stayed on the podium 3 times clinching two second places and a third on the Red Bull Podium. Young met the match with 3 podiums including a second place and two third places. Tristan Durow #444 had a squeaky clean run in heat 1 on day 1 with a powerful 2nd place. Home town rider Kyle Townsend #447 managed to step onto the podium with a 3rd place in heat 2 on day 1 and two 4th places. Durow was consistent in the top mix with his 2nd, a 4th and two 5th places. Daniel Venter #222, Thor Johnson #169 and Rory Donaldson #118 kept the pace alive. Rovers sand dragon claimed 2 DNFs from Lucas Venter #121 and one DNF from Bryce Petersen #12 as well as Danyll Brunette #73 and Sean Swart #23. Mathew Correia #200 and Tyler Petersen #15 battled a bit with the sand but still kept it strong. MX3 was no lack of hard bar bashing with Anthony Raynard #23 literally riding the wave. Raynard’s skill and fitness was put to the test with Royce Griffin #141 shaving Raynard’s back tyre. Griffin and Raynard put on a spectacular show of ability but it was Raynard who ultimately took the top step in all 4 heats. Griffin took the well-deserved 2nd place across all four heats. Levy Doherty #99 shared 2nd places across the 4 heats with Craig Kruger #29 pushing the limits on all levels in MX3. Doherty pulled two 3rd places and Kruger clinched two 3rd places. There was action in play with Sheldon Watkins #757, Jonathan du Plooy #15 and Morne Janse van Rensburg #144 battling it out in the ranks. MX 2 was a minefield of action happening every second of the race. Cameron Durow #1 in true champion style took all four wins but it was under pressure from Michael Docherty #129 on day one. Dalton Venter #151, Stav Orland #265 and Mark Carty #24, Davin Cocker #87 and Jayden Proctor #81 shared the steps of the Red Bull podium over the weekend. Docherty and Orland were determined not to make it easy and fought from the gate drop until the checkered flag. MX 1 is what the crowd comes to see with the big boys pulling out all the stops. Fear is not in their vocab and every rider wants that win with passion. Cameron Durow #58, riding two classes, carved his name in the sand with 3 wins and a 3rd due to mechanical issues in the last heat. Michael Docherty #129 took one 2nd place and Dirco van der Westhuizen #100 snapped that remaining 1st place and one 2nd place finishes. Jesse Wright was right up there with a consistent ride the entire weekend bagging two 2nd places and two 3rd places. MX Ladies saw Leah Heygate #176 rise to the occasion and gelling in the sandpit as she simply eased her way to four wins and Kayla Raaff #1 held on tight to a consistent four 2nd places. Cheyenne de Lima #484 was also very consistent with 4 3rd places and Jadene de Lima #77 took 3 4th places and an unfortunate DNF. Rover MX is one of the favourite MSA MX tracks in South Africa and there is no doubt they offered all that was challenging to bring out the top A grade riders in South Africa. Adrenalin was free of charge as there was no break in action, excitement and pure high energy racing.

15 & 16 July 2023

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Official MSA MX Nationals

Round 5 - Teza MX Track, Richards Bay

Teza Motocross Track provided a mesmerising and stunning location for Round 5 of the MSA MX National Championships. Situated in a valley in the hillsides of KZN, near Richards Bay, Teza provides a unique world class challenge for all the riders. The track was immaculately prepared for the start of the day's racing and fans turned out in their numbers to watch the best MX racers in the country in action! Bar Aviation MX 50cc: The 50cc riders were met by a tight and tricky track layout on the separate junior track. Standout performers from Round 4 Parker Cik #333 and Riley Geldenhuys #33 resumed battle in emphatic fashion! The top 2 riders were on scintillating form and absolutely dominated the day. Many riders crashed in the 2nd moto as the track got rougher under the Natal sunshine. Geldenhuys took the first race win ahead of Cik with the pair swapping positions in the 2nd race to end the day on equal points. Ben Jacobs #506 rode to an impressive P3 in Race 1. He had an entertaining battle with Dorian Botes #84 and Luan Jordaan #20 who lead the early laps after taking the holeshot but suffered a late crash. Heat 2 saw Botes stepping onto the podium with 3rd from a significantly faster Aden Fisher #86 who capitalized on a good start to take 4th with Joshua Zion-Naude #34 in the 5th. The Overall 50cc podium was Parker Cik from Riley Geldenhuys & Dorian Botes. MX 65cc: The 65cc class rewarded us with the best head-to-head battle of the day as defending champion Evan Frost #1 and championship leader Trenton Kretzmann #94 tussles it out for victory all day long across both motos. Both riders exchanged positions multiple times throughout the day with the experience of Frost getting the narrow upper hand of the youthful exuberance of Kretzmann. Frost led the final stages of Heat 1 for a comfortable win ahead of a late fading Kretzmann. Heat 2 however was a different affair with the #1 shadowing the #94 all race long. It appeared as if Kretzmann had secured the upper hand and was set for victory until a last lap crash relegated him to 2nd gifting Frost another Heat win, the double on the day and most importantly crucial Championship points as the 65cc title race heats up in the 2nd half of the season. Cassie Van Zyl #234 went 3-3 from a 4-4 for Aiden Retief #42 with Ross Mackenzie #85 following with a 5-5 for the day. Deep ruts were exceptionally tough for the 65 juniors testing the wits and bike control of all the riders. The 65 Overall podium was Frost, Kretzmann & van Zyl. MX 85cc: The 85cc class never disappoints when it comes to entertainment and this time out Ashton Martin #7 was the young man who found the best flow around Teza Motocross Track. He took the lead in Heat 1 as soon as the gate dropped and never let it go despite the best efforts of championship leader of Christian Berrington-Smith #141 who challenged early on but dropped back to 4th at the flag. Two outstanding performances from Aiden Henley #51 and Blake Frost #29 took them to 2nd and 3rd place in this ultra-competitive class. Ronald Graven #24 finished 5th place at the flag. Martin had to dig deep to win Heat 2 after Berrington-Smith saved his energy in the race to put on admirable last lap charge. He closed down seconds on the race leader in the last 2 laps but came just short at the flag while racing with an injured right knee. Blake Frost completed a great day for the Frost brothers by taking another excellent 3rd place. Henley got tangled up with other riders at the start and found himself dead last on lap 1. He fought hard and dragged himself back up to 4th place after clinically working his way through the 85cc field. Blade Tilley #125 took 5th place which is closer to where we're used to seeing him after a difficult race 1. The Overall 85cc podium featured Martin, Berrington-Smith & Henley. MX Highschool: Luke Grundy #1 did what Luke Grundy has been doing all season and once again ruled the roost with another double win on his KTM. The Red Bull KTM teenage sensation had his work cut out with rookie Jordan Van Wyk #747 pushing him all the way to the chequered flag missing out by under a second. Van Wyk had taken the holeshot and led the moto until Grundy caught and passed him with only a few laps remaining. Bryce Petersen #12 continued his impressively constant season with 3rd place ahead of a hard charging Trey Cox #37 who returned from an injury at Round 1 with 4th place. Blake Young #44 was running in the podium spots but a late puncture and flat tyre dropped him down the field. VLA Racing's Matthew Correia #200 had one of his better rides of the season taking 5th place. Heat 2 featured a much stronger start from Grundy and he pulled away early creating a large gap to 2nd which he managed to the flag. Petersen finished 2nd with Cox pleased to take 3rd after fighting his way from the bottom of the top 10 to the podium. Van Wyk took 4th place ahead of Blake Young and Tristan Durow #444. The MX Highschool Overall podium was Grundy, Petersen & Van Wyk. MX1: Championship Leader Cameron Durow #58 picked up from where he left off at Round 4. He romped away to another double win as he marches relentlessly towards his first MX1 National Championship. Race 1 saw Red Bull KTM Team Manager and multiple national champion Kerim Fitz-Gerald #108 in 2nd place as he made a welcome return to racing in MSA MX National Championship racing. Jayden Proctor #81 found some of the magic form he's been looking for on his CRF450R and fought his way through the pack to a stunning 3rd place in Race 1. Dirco van der Westhuizen #100 took 4th on his Yamaha ahead of a returning Michael Docherty sporting the number #129 on the front of his bike this season. Proctor stepped it up a notch to take 2nd in Heat 2 fighting off the challenge of a resurgent Joshua Mlimi #411 who found his mojo riding his Husqvarna FC450 up onto the podium in P3. Jesse Wright #14 recovered from a lap 1 tangle with Fitz-Gerald for 4th place with his teammate van der Westhuizen suffering technical problems that ruled him out of contention. The MX1 Overall podium was Cam Durow, Jayden Proctor and Fitz-Gerald. MX2: Stav Orland #265 started his day perfectly with an outstanding holeshot in Heat 1 taking the lead from the #1 of Cameron Durow. The young Ugandan came out the blocks firing in the early laps pulling away from the defending MX2 champion. Durow bided his time and reaped the rewards of this when a mistake from Orland resulted in a crash which put Durow in the driving seat for the rest of race. Out of Africa Monster Energy Yamaha's Dalton Venter #151 rode a very clean race to finish 2nd place with Orland recovering from his crash to score another podium in 3rd. Jayden Proctor #81 did not get the start he was looking for but flew through the pack to finish 4th with incredible pace from start to finish. Husqvarna's Michael Docherty #129 finished 5th followed up by KTM's Jonathan Mlimi #259. Mark Carty #24 and Davin Cocker #87 were also in contention for top 5 positions but were left on the wrong side of the top 10 after crashes during the race. Durow seemed to get better as the day went on and took a comfortable victory in Heat 2 completing a perfect day for the KTM man who is preparing for a trip to the USA in August. Orland learned from Heat 1's mistakes and took 2nd place. Proctor continued to impress with his 3rd podium of the day taking a well-earned 3rd place. Venter was unable to match his race 1 start which left him with too much ground to cover for a podium place as he finished 4th. Docherty was 5th again this time ahead of Cocker in 6th. The MX2 Overall podium featured Durow, Orland & Venter. Bar Aviation MX3: KTM's Anthony Raynard #23 looked to have another clean run to a double win, however it was not a straightforward run to victory for the Capetonian. He went unchallenged for a comfortable victory in Heat 1 ahead of Royce Griffin #141 with Jonathan Du Plooy #15 completing the podium with Sheldon Watkins #757 in a lonely 4th place. Heat 2 saw Raynard taking the holeshot, but a crash early in the race promoted Griffin and his YZ250 into the lead. Raynard using all his MX National experience decided to stalk Griffin for a couple of laps before picking his moment to retake the lead which he held onto until the chequered flag. 2nd-4th place was the same as race 1 and the finishing order of each race being identical to that of the overall results. Bar Aviation MX Ladies: Multiple MSA MX National Ladies Champion Kayla Raaff #1 was back at her best aboard her Kawasaki. Speaking to Raaff she explained to us how challenging the Teza track was for the riders but this didn't stop her from securing another double win. Leah Heygate #176 challenged Raaff early in Heat 1 but a crash dropped her down to 3rd place. Heygate tried her level best but could not find her way through on a very impressive Cheyenne de Lima #484 who took her Yamaha to P2. Heygate was 3rd ahead of the ever-improving Botha #128 who took 4th place on her Husqvarna TC125. Heygate did well to take 2nd place in Heat 2 ahead of de Lima and Botha as Raaff took another comfortable race win. The Ladies Overall podium was Raaff, Heygate & de Lima MX Support: Round 5 for the MX Support class starred an uncharacteristically small field with three starters at the gate. Keegan Du Plooy #94 emerged strongest among them taking a double win on the day. Veteran racer and MSA MX Nationals legend Quentin Foster #51 went 2-2 for 2nd overall on his GasGas. Shayne Steenkamp #64 who started both races well was unable to maintain that pace throughout the races took a pair of 3rd places and 3rd overall. Another memorable round of the MSA MX National Championships is under our built and without a doubt all involved enjoyed this one to the max! Round 6 & 7 will take place at the Rover Motorcycle Club track in the beautiful Gqeberha region of the Eastern Cape. This will of course be an action-packed double header weekend over the 15th and 16th of July. Words by: Themba Khumalo Images compliments of The Blacksheep Written on behalf of the MSA MX Commission @RedBullZA #givesyouwiiings

24 June 2023

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Official MSA MX Nationals

Round 4 Thunder Valley Pietermaritzburg

Round 4 of the Official MSA MX National Championship was greeted by cloudy skies at a cool and overcast Thunder Valley MX Park near Willowton, Pietermaritzburg. Following an action packed double header weekend at Rounds 2 & 3 riders and teams were itching to go racing again. Track conditions became increasingly difficult for the riders to manage with deep ruts being the challenge of the day setting up a fascinating day of racing. MX 50cc: Riley Geldenhuys #33 started the day as the Red Plate holder and he would have his hands full battling Parker Cik #333 and RTR team's Luan Jordaan for top spot. Cik lead Heat 1 from the gate drop to the chequered flag however he was shadowed all race long by Geldenhuys who took the flag less than a second behind the #333. Heat 2 rewarded us with one of the most exciting heats of the day. Cik made another perfect start to take the lead with Geldenhuys and Jordaan hot on his heels. Cik had great speed, but maybe a bit to fast as he crashed while leading in around lap 4/5, allowing Riley to pass and take the win and the overall. Keeping the red plate going into Round 5 at Tezza. Behind them a huge battle raged all race long from 4th to 12th position including the likes of Bjorn Roëts #512, Mason Barnes. MX1: Championship Leader Cameron Durow #58 rode two near flawless races and romped away to a comfortable double win on his Red Bull KTM. A good start was especially important in the MX1 class on the day and Out of Africa Monster Energy Yamaha's Jesse Wright #14 took the holeshot in Heat 1 and settled into his rhythm after being passed by Durow halfway through lap 1. MX1 rookie Stav Orland continues to impress as he hunted down and passed Wright on his way to 2nd place. Dirco Van Der Westhuizen #100 finished 4th ahead of Husqvarna's Joshua Mlimi #411 and Jayden Proctor #81 who returned to National MX with a new number and new Honda race bikes.. Heat 2 saw Mlimi taking the holeshot with Orland slotting in behind him ahead of Durow and the factory Yamaha duo. Durow took his time working his way to the front and never looked back after he slid up the inside of Mlimi into turn 3. Mlimi resisted pressure from Orland and Van der Westhuizen to take 2nd along with a 2nd overall on the day. Van der Westhuizen took 3rd as Wright and Orland faded towards the end of the Moto to finish 4th and 5th. MX Highschool: Defending Champion Luke Grundy #450 was happy to be racing at his home track despite feeling a little but under the weather. Barend du Toit #101 threw everything he had at Grundy but it was not enough to dethrone the champion on the day. Grundy took the double win with du Toit taking 2nd overall via a 2-2 finish. Class Rookie Jordan Van Wyk #747 is beginning to make his presence felt amongst the big boys as he went on to go 3-3 which secured him his first ever podium in the High School class. Blake Young #44 and Tristan Durow #444 were consistent Top 5 runners with Young taking 4th overall ahead of Durow. MX 65cc: Evan Frost #1 dominated the 65cc class using all his speed and experience to take two comfortable victories. Rookie and stand out performer of 2023, Trenton Kretzmannn went 2-2 for 2nd overall. Kretzmann was able to match the pace of Frost in the early stages of the motos but didn't have enough over race distance to challenge for victory. Aiden Retief #42 made a step forward from Round 3 stepping onto the podium twice with a pair of 3rd places. Cassie Van Zyl and Rayden Woolls took 4th and 5th overall respectively. MX3: KTM's Anthony Raynard #23 had a relatively quiet but successful day with a convincing double win ahead of Royce Griffin #141 who secured P2 on his YZ250. Jonathan Du Plooy #15 completed the podium aboard his KTM followed by Sheldon Watkins #757. Title contender Dean Wheeler #135 was not present as he continues to recover from injury. MX Ladies: The Ladies class saw an epic showdown between Kayla Raaf #1 VS Leah Heygate #176. Heygate came out of the gates firing taking the holeshot and extending a lead over Raaf. Raaf relentlessly pursued Heygate closing the gap to under a second starting the last lap. Heygate held on to take victory, only 0.400 seconds ahead of Raaf at the flag. Cheyenne De Lima #484 finished a lonely 3rd in front of Zoe Botha #128 with Kawasaki's Dakota Grobbelaar #42 in 5th for both heats. Heat 2 followed an identical script to the first race however Raaf was able to fight her way into the lead with a clinical block pass to take the lead with 4 laps to go. Heygate responded but ran out of time to find a way through back on her rival. MX Support: As is often the case in the MX Support class many local riders to measure themselves against the countries best MX riders. Wildcards Luke Walker #312 and Daniel Peckham #247 were the top two men claiming 1st and 2nd overall. "Steve-O" Steve Baker was victorious in his race long head-to-head battles with Keegan Du Plooy #94. Baker took 3rd overall from Du Plooy with veteran Quentin Foster #51 in 5th. MX2: Red Bull KTM teammates Cameron Durow #1 and Jono Mlimi #259 got off to flying start storming to a 1-2 finish in Heat 1. Mark Carty #24 continued his rich regin of form, backing up his debut podium at Round 3 with another strong ride helped by a good start. He spent the moto stalking Mlimi, eventually taking the flag 4 seconds behind making it a KTM podium lockout. Dalton Venter #151 was 4th with Stav Orland #265 5th. Heat 2 featured another 1-2 for Durow and Mlimi with Mark Carty making it 3 straight podiums, after a superb comeback from a terrible start. Stav Orland was running in 2nd place from the start until an unfortunate crash on the final lap dropped him to 4th place. Venter was close behind but unable to capitalize on Orland's error which left him in 5th for the heat and the day. MX 85cc: Arguably the most competitive class alongside the 125s, the 85cc class did not disappoint in terms of entertainment. Christian Berrington-Smith #141 extended his championship lead with a dominant performance in both heats going 1-1 for 1st overall. Ashton Martin #7 was 2nd with Aiden Henley #51, #Blade Tilley #125 and Trail Carter #476 close behind. Blake Frost #29 was in podium contention until two crashes dropped him to the back of the field. Frost quickly redeemed himself with a stunning holeshot in Heat 2 leading the early laps of the race with a horde of riders chasing him down. After Berrington-Smith made his way into the lead the battle ensued for the remaining podium places. Ashton Martin came through the train to take 2nd with Blade Tilley continuing to impress in the 85cc class in 3rd. Frost took 4th ahead of Henley and Jack Anderson. And so concludes Round 4, the riders impressed all with their ability to deal with the 'gnarly' track conditions. A huge thanks to them and all who help put together this amazing show. Excitement is already building for Round 5! Written by: Themba Khumalo

6th may 2023

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Official MSA MX Nationals

Rounds 2 & 3 Zone 7 Cape Town

The mother city awaited the action as the bikes rolled in Friday afternoon, the eve of 1st April proved to be no joke. Round 2 and 3 consecutively was set to separate the men from the boys and the daisies from the roses. Scrutineering started and the line grew as anxious riders and mechanics queued to have their machines checked for compliance. You could hear the distant sound, as they arrived, of bikes being revved out among the trees and as it grew later on Friday the sombre mood turned to the final checks for best performance. Dawn broke through the silhouette of the neighbouring hills and the call for riders briefing increased the anxiety. The weatherman knew this was no ordinary weekend and gave us the most splendid weather a rider could wish for. The track was prepped like wedding cake precision as the MX 50cc champions lined up in order of the national ranking to take their place in what was crowned the mother of all race weekends. Practice made its mark as the gauge of your stealth through the extremely well-designed Zone 7 track offering everything from a sand section to hard pack, short and long jumps and a daring sand bowl. Throughout the 1st day of racing a lot of lessons was learnt among the teams, some mechanical failures, some minor mistakes costing places were all part of how these 4 heats would determine the end goal of this challenging weekend of motocross. In the MX 50cc class it was most certainly Riley Geldenhuys from East London who dominated the track through all 4 heats. Making the Eastern Cape proud of his stellar performance across 4 heats. Parker Cik had an amazing ride taking two seconds the weekend and then Mason Visser clinched a third in heat 2 on Saturday. Luan Jordaan and Aden Fisher rode their hearts out and Ulrich Sterley was not far off pace. Ben Jacobs from the Free State was in that top 10 mix having an absolute blast. Dorian Botes from KZN had some bad luck in the 1st heat on Sunday however still managed to perform extremely well. Mason Barnes from Border had a fantastic outing with Coby Kretzmann in close tussle. Joshua-Zion Naude was definitely pushing hard with Bjorn Roets also in the mix. Julian Ferguson, Jarret Basson and Hanro Basson ensured some good competition in the favourite 50cc pack. It was indeed Riley Geldenhuys who takes away the glory from this round with Parker Cik and Luan Jordaan being in the top slots mostly. The MX 65cc was chilling to watch as these youngsters battled it out lap for lap. Goosebump victory with two first places for Trenton Kretzmann and two 1st places for Evan Frost. Trenton was on fire but not without pressure from the infamous Frost-bite. Cassie van Zyl was not letting go of the top steps and our Kabelo Jnr from Gauteng, Aiden Retief and Kyle Brunette from the Eastern Cape GQ stamped their mark. Awesome to see our little ladies battling it out in the MX 65cc class, so well done to Chloe Odendaal and Kendra Krull – you girls Rock!! The MX 85cc is where the magic starts coming together and local champ Jack Anderson was not shy to show his authority. Christian-Berrington Smith pushed the edges and took the win in the final heat on Sunday but it was definitely Jack Anderson carrying the smiles and trophies home for his two wins, a second and a third for the weekend. Christian is no stranger to the top steps and took one win and two seconds for the top steps. Caden Weise, Blade Tilley, Aiden Henley and Ashton Martin kicked off some dust to keep the pressure at boiling point. Trent Valsecchi also had an amazing weekend with a 3rd and three 4th places. The MX High School, commonly known as the kamikazes, did not disappoint the crowd. A full house mix on 1st places with Luke Grundy power clinching one win, two 2nd’s and a 3rd. Bryce Peterson snatched 2 x 4th places, a 3rd and a 6th. Blake Young brought his B-Lake powerhouse from Swaziland and grabbed hold of a 5th, two 3rd’s and one top step win. Barend du Toit was the star for sure taking two wins, a second and one really bad luck mechanical failure but still finished. Ryan Adler also brought his Husky to war and played around with the top runners extensively. Jordan van Wyk is no stranger to MX and is paving his way in the High School class. Thor Johnson, Lucas Venter, Emmanual Bako, Alon Orland, Rory Donaldson, Kyle Townsend, Daniel Venter and Matthew Correia fought out the mid pack riders battling for positions. Exceptional performance was definitely shared between Luke Grundy, Barend du Toit, Blake Young and Bryce Peterson. MX 1 our premier class saw Cameron Durow dominate that top podium step again. Cam is on absolute prime performance as he took three wins the weekend. Dirco van der Westhuizen was not letting go under any circumstance and fought tooth and nail to the end. Dirco snatched that one win on heat 2 on Saturday. Jesse Wright was very consistent throughout the weekend but with Neville Bradshaw and Joshua Mlimi around, he had to have some added energy to hold them off. An amazing performance from Cameron Durow in MX1 as a well deserving winner. MX 2 was the same for Cameron Durow taking all four wins. Stav Orland and Dalton Venter found chance to create a symphony mixing it up with seconds and thirds. Mark Carty was the crowd pleaser for sure as this was his first podium in 12 years. Mark took the 3rd position in heat 2 on the last day and his dedication and devotion to the sport clearly shines through, as Mark and his plethora of supporters lifted the roof on Sunday with cheer as this amazing talented rider took that step. Dalton Venter, Jonathan Mlimi and Davin Cocker kept the crowd entertained with their high energy race skills, and lap after lap kept trying something different. MX 3 is where the stalwarts of MX flex their muscles and Anthony Raynard was sure to keep that pressure pot at max. Ant took all four wins the weekend proving his ability on a bike as phenomenal. The all-time favourite and legend Neville Bradshaw came out to SA to ride for Tintswalo and took four 2nd places. What a champion ride from Nev. One of SA’s fastest Royce Griffin is also no stranger to the gates, made his sturdy mark and clinched three 3rd places and sadly one DNF. Sheldon Watkins, Jonathan du Plooy and Levi Doherty completed the pack keeping MX alive. The MX Ladies class left some jaw dropping moments as Kayla Raaff showed the crowd how its done. Kayla took four wins this weekend but hotly chased by Leah Heygate. Leah certainly pulled out some Bruce Willis skills and refused to let go. Kayla took the lead in absolute style. Puck Klaassen gave her best and has become well accustomed to the podium steps this year. Puck was smiling at her three 3rd places and one second place take home. Cheyenne de Lima is a favourite from KZN and kept the pressure on and managed to take home four 4th places. Zoe Botha and Dakota Grobbelaar were giving it all which is really chilling to see how these girls fair up against counterparts on lap times. Jadene de Lima unfortunately had an incident in Heat 1 on Saturday and we wish her well on recovery. The manufacturer performance measured across MX High School, MX 1 and MX 2 classes which saw KTM take the manufacturer award for the weekend. Thank you to the Zone 7 organising committee, Officials, Marshals, helpers, the MX Commission, Motorsport South Africa and FIMA affiliation for this amazing event. We also acknowledge Woman in Motorcycling (WIM) Thank you to our Sponsors: TRP Distributors, Venture Sports, Prepsol, Missing Second, Bar Aviation, Bandit Graffix @RedbullZA #givesyouwiiings Thank you to local Class Sponsors: MX 50cc Total Control SA MX 65cc Graven Racing MX 85cc Sygnia MX High School Tip Trans Group MX 1 Tallie Marine MX 2 Geoff Kruss MX 3 Spar Century City MX Ladies Bar Aviation Senior Support Zone 7 Overall stardom for these two rounds is undoubtably Cameron Durow (MX 1 & MX 2), Riley Geldenhuys (MX 50cc), Anthony Raynard (MX 3) and Kayla Raaff (MX Ladies). Well done to all riders for their awesome achievements during rounds 2 and 3 of the Official MSA MX National Championship. Written on behalf of the MSA MX Commission Images compliments of The-Black-Sheep. Round 4 of the Official MSA MX Nationals will be held at Thunder Valley in Pietermaritzburg on the 6th May 2023.

1,2 April 2023

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Official MSA MX Nationals

Round 1 Phakisa Welkom

As the days grew few before the drop of the gates of the famous Motorsport South Africa Motocross Nationals at Phakisa, preparations were underway among riders for what lay ahead. Was this to be the “mudder” of all races , a tough race or just a walk in the park as weather predictions were looming? Saturday morning arrived and everyone was well aware and watching their weather apps, selecting tyres, tuning bikes for the unknown that awaits just other side of that steel gate where steel meets soil. Riders briefing was bright and early with no rain in sight , clear skies , a dream of a day to be racing motocross at a well-known track in Africa, Phakisa Raceway , the ultimate legends of racing. Riders and mechanics braced themselves for the unknown as the COC released them into the wild and wet Phakisa MX track. Some cruised like mud-prawns whilst some battled with various issues affected by the mud and water-logged track. It was a learning curve for everyone to navigate unchartered territory. This was the dreaded mudder!! It was amazing to see our 50cc champions going bar to bar and not giving up under the gruelling race terrain. Mason Visser from the Freestate pinned his mark on round 1 even though taken the win in heat 1 but had bad luck in heat 2 but still leads by 1 point. Parker Cik from Gauteng pulled out the magic for sure in heat 2 with champion style in heat 2. Logan de Bruyn from Gauteng ended up on the podium with an overall 3rd and had a blast in heat 2. Riley Geldenhuy , Dorian Botes , Richard Smith and Tiaan Scheppel clinching good positions 4,5,6 and 7 overall. Aden Fisher from the Eastern Cape was out there giving it gas in 8th followed by Ben Jacobs from the Free State in 9th , Ulrich Sterley in 10th and Luan Jordaan in 11th. Coby Kretzmann from KZN had a better 2nd heat finishing 12th followed by the Eastern Cape Mason Barnes in 13th overall. Bjorn Roets from Gauteng ended 14th followed by Josh-Zion Naude from the Eastern Cape in 15th. Julian Ferguson from Western Cape , Alessandro Green from Gauteng and Jarret Botes from KZN finished 16th 17th and 18th respectively. The 65cc class was the pinnacle of effort as the track was pushing the limits on these small wheels on the 65’s but they made it happen in glorious MX valour. Imagine the odds against these valiant riders but they still held it pinned and went full send with all they had. Amazing effort and kudos to these bold champions for going to head to head with the beast. Trenton Kretzmann was out to take a 6 point lead in the championship and his confidence was marked at Phakisa. Evan Frost had such an amazing smooth ride it appeared he was just doing what he does best. Evan finished with 2nd overall in the tank. Cassie van Zyl was not giving up under any circumstances and held it tight for a podium finish at 3rd overall. Ross Mackenzie in 4th was good to see along with Kyle Brunette in 5th. Raydon Woolls kept it steady in both heats and finished 6th overall. Aiden Retief had untold bad luck in heat 2 but still had an amazing finish in the 7th overall. Haydin Victor and Ricky Korte battled it out for 9th and 10th whilst Hendrico Barwise end in 11th with Kabelo jnr having mechanical issues in heat 1 still ended in 12th place for the day. Amazing talent in race as well were our little lady riders going against all odds –these are true MX die hards. Well done Kendra and Chloe, we know there is a lot more to come on your journey. The 85cc was not to disappoint with new blood taking the reigns in 2023. Christian Berrington-Smith simply flew the track in heat 2 as if it was made for him taking the championship lead on tie with Aiden Henley in 2nd place. This is going to be the race to watch in round 2 and 3 in Cape Town. Jake van Schoor in 3rd overall is not shy of the podium and is determined to force his mark in the rankings. Caden Weise enjoys the difficult tracks and eased his way into 4th place followed by the home-boy Blade Tilley in 5th and hotly chased by Blake Frost in 6th. There is definitely more to come out of this exciting class at the rounds to follow. MX High School is where everything is released. Boys-to-Men have no fear from the second that gate drops until that checker flag yields, nobody acknowledges fear no matter what. This is by far the class of No Fear as they bolster for that finish line lap after lap. Barend du Toit was gliding the track but was met with some bad luck to give Luke Grundy that well deserved championship leader board. Bryce Petersen was consistent in his ride and finished 2nd although tied with Barend who took 3rd. Emmanuel Bako is not new to the scene as he took 4th place ahead of Blake Young in 5th and the new bike of Jordan van Wyk in 6th. MX3 did not disappoint at all with the stalwart and legendary Neville Bradshaw taking the top slot on the podium. Anthony Raynard held up brilliantly to take the 2nd step followed by Royce Griffin in 3rd place. Charan Moore is back from his amazing ride at the Dakar and joined us in MX3 finishing 4th. Dean Wheeler recently back from injury was hot in favour of 5th place with his eyes set on the podium. MX2 is where the big guns came out and Cameron Durow, the Red Bull KTM rider, took and awesome lead ahead of the talented Stav Orland from Uganda. Jonathan Mlimi is always in the top slots and clinched a step on the podium in 3rd place. Mark Carty and Dalton Venter gave it all to finish in 4th and 5th closing the door on the top 5. MX1 was where the hidden artillery came out to play. They are all seasoned riders, not shy of hard racing and not scared to full throttle the massive machines. Cameron Durow stamped that authority by taken 1st place which was definitely an achievement for him running 1st places in all 4 heats of the day. The legendary Neville Bradshaw , all the way from the UK, was not letting this go easily and took 2nd place overall. Jesse Wright had an amazing 2nd heat and finished 3rd overall followed by Kerim Fitz-Gerald in 4th and Dirco van der Westhuizen in 5th. MX ladies declared war as these ladies took on the toughest of tough conditions. Kayla Raaff is no stranger to the top slot on the podium as she embraced that top step of the podium. Jadene de Lima was up for the challenge and finished 2nd overall followed by Leah Heygate in 3rd. Puck Klaasen was not letting go at all and finished in 4th followed by Cheyenne de Lima in 5th. Ivana Venter, Mienke Cawood, Jessica Osner, Dakota Grobbelaar, Elang Chibana and Zoe Botha are super stars from this event as it was indeed survival of the fittest to finish. An amazing race meeting bringing true talent to the fore by all riders. This round pushed the limits and all riders faced the same ahead of them. Well done to our championship leaders and the podium winners and of course to all the riders participating. We thank our sponsors for being a part of the amazing sport of Motocross keeping the dream alive for our riders. Thank you to TRP Distributors, Venture Sports, Prepsol, Forever Racing and supported by @redbullza #givesyouwiiings and Missing Second Technologies , Bandit Graffix and The Black Sheep. Thank you to our class sponsors for the day: MX 50cc Spar MX 65ccOut of Africa MX85ccBar Aviation MX High SchoolTip Trans Group MX1Bar Aviation MX2Bar Aviation MX3Powerline Construction MX LadiesPegasus Storage Solutions Champ of the day most certainly goes to Cameron Durow going 1st in 4 heats!! Proudly brought to you by Motorsport South Africa with affiliation to FIMA. Be sure to watch the telegram group by joining at https://t.me/+4gpJKlkS2Mw4MDc0 We are gearing up for round 2 and 3 in Cape Town as the Official MX Nationals takes on Zone 7 on the 1st and 2nd April 2023. It only gets better from here so be sure to be a part of the action. Images compliments of The-Black-Sheep Content compliments MSA MX Commission

18th February 2023

Seniors

Juniors

Photos by

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2023, ARE YOU READY?

As we head into the start of the official MSA Motocross national championship we are bound to see new talents and a change up on the podiums. Riders moving up or staying in the same class will inevitably be bashing it out for the top podium to claim that elusive Red Plate! Exciting international talent joining us this year along with our African continental stars will prove to be a tough day in the saddle for all riders. We wish all riders a safe and exciting championship and we shall see you on the 18th Feb at Phakisa Elkom, Free State.

National Champions

Class

  • MX 50cc 

  • MX 65cc 

  • MX 85cc Pro Mini

  • MX High School

  • MX 1 

  • MX 2 

  • MX 3 

  • MX Ladies 

Rider

  • Rayden Woolls

  • Blake Frost

  • Trey Cox

  • Luke Grundy

  • Tristan Purdon

  • Cameron Durow

  • Dean Weeler

  • Kayla Raaf

Bike #

  • 345

  • 5

  • 37

  • 450

  • 1

  • 58

  • 135

  • 1

Manufacturer Award  - KTM

2022

2021

National Champions

Class 

  • MX 50cc 

  • MX 65cc 

  • MX 85cc 

  • MX 85cc ProMini

  • MX High School

  • MX 1 

  • MX 2 

  • MX 3 

  • MX Ladies

Rider

  • Trenton Kretzmann

  • Blade Tilley

  • Mathew Correia

  • Emmanuel Bako

  • Jonathan Mlimi

  • Tristan Purdon

  • Tristan Purdon

  • Grant Frerichs

  • Kayla Raaf

Bike #

  • 1

  • 125

  • 200

  • 21

  • 1

  • 1

  • 41

  • 101

  • 1

Manufacturer Award  - KTM

National Champions

Class

  • MX 50cc 

  • MX 65cc 

  • MX 85cc 

  • MX 85cc 

  • MX High School

  • MX 1 

  • MX 2 

  • MX 3 

  • MX Ladies 

Rider

  • Trenton Kretzmann

  • Neil van der Vyver

  • Liam Botha

  • Bryce Petersen

  • Jonathan Mlimi

  • Tristan Purdon

  • Anthony Raynard

  • Ian Topliss

  • Kayla Raaf

Bike #

  • 94

  • 1

  • 17

  • 288

  • 259

  • 41

  • 23

  • 76

  • 1

Manufacturer Award  - YAMAHA

2020

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2019

Manufacturer Award  - KTM

National Champions

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Manufacturer Award  - KTM

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